Filling up the tanks with time

WASSAIC — Allan Shope hasn’t solved the planet’s environmental woes, but he does believe he’s bought the planet a little bit more time.

Shope, along with his wife, Julie, owns Listening Rock Farm, an environmentally-savvy organic farm on Sinpatch Road in Wassaic. For the last seven years, the farm has run completely on pure biodiesel fuel, produced on site with a little help from technology and a few friends.

“As a species, humans were able to grow larger than the earth could usually sustain because of our carbon dependency,� Shope began. “Our biggest problem now is that there are too many people and not enough energy.�

The general person doesn’t know a lot about fuel, he argued. After he and his wife purchased the Listening Rock property in late 2000, Shope decided he wanted to find out what exactly was in a barrel of oil.

Find out he did, and he even went one better, discovering a better alternative. The process of converting vegetable oil to biodiesel fuel is simple, he discovered, and only takes about six hours.

Vegetable oil, like the kind you buy at a store and the variety used in fryers at restaurants, is made up of a glycerine body with hydrogen and carbon chains. With a small amount of lye, the different parts become free agents. Glycerine, being heavier, separates and falls to the bottom, representing about 5 percent of the oil. (Glycerine has a few uses on its own, and once removed from the tank can be put on a compost pile for fertilizer, not to mention it’s also used to make soap.)

To make biodiesel fuel, oxygen needs to be added to the remaining hydrogen and carbon parts. It’s plentiful, and can be found in manure (as methanol) or corn (as ethanol). Heating the three together to a certain temperature, the oxygen, hydrogen and carbon will form diesel fuel.

There are several reasons why biodiesel is just as good, if not better, than petroleum diesel. First, any diesel engine can run off biodiesel fuel; no conversion is required to begin running biodiesel fuel, according to Shope. The price per gallon of biodiesel is substantially higher however when purchased in the local area. GM Taylor & Sons, based in Dover with branches in Millerton and Pine Plains, among others, is currently selling off-road petrodiesel for $2.55 per gallon; on-road is $2.91. Meanwhile off-road B20 biodiesel (meaning 20 parts biodiesel to 80 parts petrodiesel) costs $3.19 per gallon, while on-road goes for $3.89. Representatives for the company did not return phone calls for an interview.

One of the reasons biodiesel fuel makes for such an alluring alternative to the traditional petroleum diesel is that it doesn’t matter whether the cooking oil used in the conversion process is new or used. Utilizing used canola oil from the fryers in kitchens, restaurants and delis in the local area has been the secret for some to making biodiesel not just a moral victory but an economical one as well.

Approximately 10 establishments in the area, ranging from The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville to Charlotte’s Restaurant in Millbrook, have an arrangement with the Shopes to unload their used cooking oil, which they would normally be charged to dispose of, for free.

“It serves two purposes,� explained Renny Abrams Jr., from Renny’s Country Store Deli. “It’s good for the environment and there are cost advantages as well.�

Abrams said he was also impressed with the level of environmental awareness that Listening Rock Farm looks to instill in the community. Students from The Hotchkiss School visit the farm and are shown how biodiesel fuel, as well as some of the farm’s other sustainable activities, is produced.

“He uses it as education,� Abrams said. “Hopefully that information will stay with society for a long time.�

The Hotchkiss School has been working with Shope for several years, according to Joseph McClain, the school’s manager of dining services.

“We’re at a point where the school would like to lessen its footprint,� McClain said, “and we’re adopting many environmentally-friendly business practices, from growing produce in our own garden to trying to do business with vendors that adopt the same practices, such as fair trade.�

Listening Rock Farm is a small operation, Shope is quick to point out, using about 50 gallons of fuel a day to run operations. The farm collects cooking oil on a regular basis, and even though Renny’s only uses about 10 gallons a week, the different restaurants add up. Listening Rock has a primary 275-gallon storage tank and a backup with a 3,000 gallon capacity, which is always kept full.

Shope estimates that the B100 (pure) biodiesel fuel he makes costs about $1 a gallon to make, including the cost of ethanol, methanol and transportation costs. The initial setup, including a biodiesel processor, cost the farm about $5,000.

“Saving money is nice, but it’s not my motivation,� Shope said, “even assuming it was the exact same cost.�

“I don’t think we’re saving the world,� Shopes said. “I don’t really think biodiesel is the answer. We don’t have enough acres to grow the products we need for fuel as well as the food we need to survive.

“But the earth is facing a serious problem, and we need time to solve it,� he reasoned. “And every gallon I make gives them a little more time.�

A cherry on top doesn’t hurt either. “It smells terrific when you’re plowing,� he added smiling. “Like popcorn!�